New Delhi, 25 March 2008: The Hyundai Elantra SE was adjudged the world’s top small sedan and the Hyundai Santa Fe the global best among mid-sized SUVs in the Annual Auto Issue of the prestigious Consumer Reports magazine.
Apart from the above, the Hyundai Tucson SE (V6) and the Hyundai Sonata GLS (4-cylinder) & SE (V6) also feature in the list of Best Vehicles. Alongside, the luxury sedan Hyundai Azera was rated as the most satisfying drive by its owners, who based their vote on factors like price, performance, reliability, comfort, and enjoyment, among others.
Hyundai also ranked above Volvo, Mitsubishi, Ford, General Motors, Suzuki and Chrysler in an overall survey.
Commenting on the findings, Mr H S Lheem, Managing Director, HMI said, “This is deeply satisfying, especially as the Consumer Reports surveys are highly respected for their total objectivity and the process of evaluation is one of the most demanding. The endorsement of our products by a body like this speaks volumes for our quality and the reliability we offer.”
The Hyundai Santa Fe, a leader in the auto market in the USA, has been described as providing “a quiet and roomy interior, excellent fit and finish, a refined powertrain, a relatively good ride and an optional third row seat.” The Santa Fe was displayed by HMIL during the Auto Expo 2008 in New Delhi in January this year to evaluate the response of the showgoers as well as the dealers and as expected it drew an overwhelming response in terms of size, fit, finish and build quality.
Consumer Reports conducts more than 50 individual tests on stringent parameters for reliability, performance, fuel economy, safety, ergonomics, comfort, interior fit and finish and overall road-worthiness and consumer satisfaction.
The Consumer Reports ratings differ from all the other auto reviewers in that, for its Annual Auto Issue, the magazine:
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Buys its own test cars;
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Drives the test vehicles thousands of miles over several months;
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Puts each vehicle through more than 50 individual tests and evaluations;
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Has experienced automotive engineers and their support staff evaluate each test car at a 327-acre Auto Test Centre;
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Bases the reliability ratings on the problems identified through the Annual Car Reliability Survey, which involves collation of data for more than 1.3 million vehicles; and
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Accepts no advertisements.